Bio

Tom Craft took over the helm of the Riverside City College football program in 2010 and has become the winningest head football coach in RCC history. Craft has seen over 300 student-athletes transfer to the four-year level. Craft surpassed the century mark in wins with an overall mark of 136-20. His 136 wins makes him the first California community college football coach to win over 100 games with two programs. He accomplished this feat at Palomar College, winning 115 games.

His 102nd win in 2019 brought the Riverside football program its first California Community Colleges Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship and first National Championship in 30 years. He has helped guide three different California community colleges to a state championship during his coaching career (Palomar (3), Mt. San Antonio (1), Riverside (2). He is the only coach to win multiple large school state championships at two different schools. At Riverside, he has the highest win percentage in community college history for coaches who have been at the same college for at least 10 years.

Craft, who played quarterback and was team captain of the 1976 Aztecs team that went 10-1, graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor of arts in Kinesiology where he earned a master’s degree from Azusa Pacific. Since taking over a program which finished 1-9 in 2009, Craft has built one of the premier programs regionally, statewide and nationally. In 2010, he became RCC’s 18th head football coach after head coaching stints at Palomar College and San Diego State. During his 13-year reign, he has coached the Tigers to 11 conference titles and 13-consecutive post season games. Additionally, he has coached the Tigers to ten-straight state playoff appearances, and nine Southern California Championship appearances.

Craft has led the Tigers to two undefeated seasons in 2011 (11-0) and 2019 (13-0). Furthermore, he has led the Tigers to four regular season undefeated records coming in 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2022. He has taken teams to the postseason 23 consecutive times during his last 23 years as a head community college football coach, leading two different programs at the community college level, Palomar and RCC, which is a Southern California Football Association (SCFA) record. His post-season record stands at 27-11. He has coached four State Offensive Players of the Year in Vic Viramontes (2017), Stone Smartt (2018), Jake Retzlaff (2022) and Jordan Barton (2023), who were also named to the CCCAA & JC Athletic Bureau First-Team All-American. Furthermore, he has been named the Coach of the Year 18 times, Regional Coach of the Year ten times, State Coach of the Year five times, and National Community College coach of the Year in 2019.

Craft coached at Mt. San Antonio College from 2007-09 and helped the Mounties to three-straight appearances in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship bout. At Mt. SAC, he continued to coach some of the best quarterbacks in California that included one State Player of the Year and three Regional Players of the Year. In 2009, the Mounties finally captured a State Championship and a National Championship by defeating the College of San Mateo. In 2007, Craft coached his oldest son, Kevin Craft, who amassed over 5,600 yards of total offense, including over 4,200 passing yards and 44 touchdowns. Kevin was named a First Team All-American and CCCAA Offensive Player of the Year. He then became the starting quarterback at UCLA during the 2008-09 season. A former quarterback at San Diego State University (SDSU), Craft has built a legacy at the community college level.

Over the course of 16 years, he led Palomar College to three State Championships and three National Championships. During Craft’s last 10 years at Palomar, the Comets won nine conference titles and recorded nine bowl victories. During a three-year stretch at Palomar, the program went 31-2 and staged an offensive attack that ranked among the nation’s best for five-consecutive seasons. Craft also developed seven All-American quarterbacks in his last 10 years at Palomar. Craft ended his tenure with Palomar as the winningest coach in Comet history and built a win-loss record of 115-56-1. Craft took a three-year hiatus from his duties at Palomar to become the offensive coordinator for San Diego State from 1994 through 1996. During that time, Craft directed some of the most prolific offenses in Aztec history. During the 1995 and 1996 seasons, the Aztecs finished in the top-10 nationally in total offense and scoring.

The 1995 team set a national record becoming the first NCAA Division I team to have a running back gain over 1,500 yards rushing, two 1,000-yard receivers and one 3,000-yard passer. During that 1995 season, George Jones broke Marshall Faulk’s single-season rushing record with over 1,800 yards and finished second in the nation in net rushing yards. In his first season with the Aztecs as their head coach in 2002, Craft’s offensive unit finished fifth in the nation in passing offense with a SDSU-record 4,302 passing yards, making his offensive unit the most-improved unit in NCAA Division I football that season. He was also known as a top recruiter as shown by his 2003 recruiting class at San Diego State, where Rivals.com selected it as the best recruiting class in the Mountain West Conference. During his tenure, the Aztecs won 19 games. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children: daughter, Lacey, and sons, Kevin and Kyle.

CAREER COACHING HIGHLIGHTS
Riverside City College (2010 - present) - 2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19
- 2019 & 2023 State & National Championship
- 11 conference titles (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
- 136-20 overall record (13 seasons)
- 18-8 in overall bowl game record
- 26 bowl game appearances
- 13 consecutive years to postseason
- Six-Time Southern California Champions
- Coached Vic Viramontes, Stone Smartt, Jake Retzlaff and Jordan Barton to California Offensive Player of the Year & First-Team All-American honors
- Coached Nick Figueroa and Kobey Fitzgerald to 3C2A Defensive Player of the Year & First-Team All-American honors
- Coached five quarterbacks in the last six years to California State Players of the Year & First-Team All-American honors

Palomar College (1983-93, 1998-2001)
- Nine (9) conference titles (‘89, ‘90, ‘91, ‘92, ‘93, ‘98, ‘99, ‘00, ‘01)
- 115-56-1 overall record (16 seasons)
- 9-3 bowl record in last 10 years
- 10 consecutive bowl appearances in 10 consecutive years
- Three (3) State Championships (1991, ‘93, ‘98)
- Three (3) National Championships (1991, ‘93, ‘98)
- Four (4) Southern California Championships (1991, ‘93, ‘98, 2001)
- Seven (7) All-American quarterbacks

Overall Community College Highlights – 29 Years
- Five-Time National Champions (1991, 1993, 1998, 2019, 2023)
- Five-Time California State Champions (1991, 1993, 1998, 2019, 2023)
- 20 conference titles in his last 23 years
- 38 bowl game appearances
- 27 bowl game championships
- 23 consecutive postseason appearances
- 251-76-1 overall community college won-lost record

San Diego State University - Offensive Coordinator (1994-96)
- In 1995 and 1996, offense was rated in the Top 10 in the nation in total offense and scoring
- In 1995, George Jones broke Marshall Faulk’s single-season rushing record (over 1,800 yards) and was ranked No. 2 in the nation.
- In 1995, SDSU became the first offensive unit in NCAA history to have a running back with over 1,500 net rushing yards, two receivers with over 1,000 receiving yards and a quarterback with over 3,000 passing yards.

San Diego State University - Head Coach (2002-05)
- Broke school record for passing offense in his first year with over 4,300 yards. SDSU went from 89th in the country in passing offense to FIFTH in his first season.
- Was third-most improved offense in the nation, going from 89th to the Top 20.
- J.R. Tolvar led the nation in receiving yards as Craft put together the most prolific receiving duo in NCAA history with Tolvar and Kasim Osgood combining for 244 receptions in 2002.
- Helped San Diego State improve its attendance from 20,000 to over 36,000.
- Beat Utah and BYU in the same season for the first time in 19 years.